Steins;Gate – 10

by psgels, posted in Steins;Gate



Okay, so my post about Stein’s Gate 09 was a complete disaster. I had problems with the episode but blamed them on something completely stupid and irrelevant. I still hold that Daru needs to shut up, though, but more on that below.

First of all I want to say that before watching this episode, I got intrigued by a message of PL on the shoutbox, where he (she?) claimed that “Suspension of belief cracked”. With that, I assume that that referred to the scene in which Okarin assaulted Rukako. And yeah… that was out of place. If everything around Okabe changed, wouldn’t it at least have crossed his mind that the thing they tried to change in the first place? I mean, it’s a ridiculous scenario, but when the entire area I lived in changed dramatically, I’d at least consider buying flying pigs.

In a way, the more realistic a show is, the more these small inconsistencies tend to stand out. That’s what makes these kinds of series tricky to do, but that does make them really interesting. This episode may indeed not have been the best of the series so far, but I still really liked the turns that the plot took in the end.

In any case, let me try to actually explain exactly what has been bugging me about this series. It’s got nothing to do with plotholes or cliches that may or may not be there; that kind of suspense of disbelief is just the effect it has. Instead this is about storytelling versus characters. Steins;Gate is brilliantly told. It’s a pity that it chose the same season to air in as Hyouge Mono so that it can’t exactly boast the best dialogue of the season, but the camera work, pacing and atmosphere: I’ve said plenty of times that they’re amazing.

When looking at the characters though, I’m missing something. I keep praising other shows this season for adding to their cast, and giving their characters more depth by developing them, but I can’t really do that with this series. In fact, this episode finally took an in-depth look at one of the characters: SuzUha. With this episode her character finally changed, or at least our perception of this. In the meantime: all we know about Okabe is that he once got sick in the past. Mayuri meanwhile has a sad past that caused her to remain with Okabe, Daru meanwhile is a typical Otaku and it feels like all Christina has been doing is either be quiet or act tsundere.

Instead this show has been fleshing out its characters, and that’s another thing that it can be really good at. As much as I dislike Daru, I really like how he in this episode went out to a meeting of various members of a forum. The times that the characters spend shopping and doing the laundry are also quite cute. But at the same time they feel repetitive. Especially Okarin, Daru and Christina are guilty of this. Okabe’s monologues were once fresh, but after ten episodes they sound too much like each other. Daru was better in this episode, but generally he feels very repetitive whenever he’s not involved in the plot (I also realized that he’s voiced by Tomokazu Seki, and oh my god: he’s really forcing his voice here, making the acting of this guy just bad).

In short: too many characters are just repeating themselves too much. They mostly tend to shine whenever the plot is involved, but that’s because the plot is so incredibly good, not because the characters themselves are enjoyable to watch (or not as much as I’d like anyway).

The big question is of course: is this intentional? With 24 episodes, this could just be a form of build-up. The characters right now are slightly annoying because the creators are building them up, to give them some good depth in the second half. This has been done quite a few times, but there also have been plenty of shows who didn’t. The repetition in the banter right now however is something that’s irking me.

And why did I get a deja vu when I just wrote that?
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Hana-Saku Iroha – 10

by psgels, posted in Hana-Saku Iroha



Yeah. This was good. This was really, really good. It was definitely the best episode since the first two episodes. I’ve always wanted to see an episode that just follows the every day lives of these characters without these hi-jinks like set-ups, and this was it. Sure, Ohana had to get sick for it, but what follows is a wonderfully down to earth episode in which for once the cast really came to life. it’s a very mundane episode, but because of that the creators were able to show a lot.

It’s a bit ironic that the episode with the most mundane premise so far has turned out to be the best one, but this has to do with the essence of why I didn’t enjoy Hana-Saku Iroha as much as I hoped I would. It’s not the fact that it became less serious, but rather that the scenarios for each episode felt… uninspired. Of course I don’t mean totally uninspired, but I did feel like I was missing something. They were fine as build-up, but in terms of the characterization they missed this thing that this episode had: their ability to really breathe life into these characters.

This episode was genuine as hell. The acting was wonderful, for just about everyone. The sick Ohana was wonderfully performed and the creators really went out of their way to portray her overly serious attitude while being sick. The chemistry between the cast really returned back to what it was in the first two episodes. Tohru also ended up showing much more of his crush on Ohana beyond the occasional chuckle as well, especially that scene in which he brings her dinner was really well done.

And you know what the irony is? This episode was written by Junji Nishimura, the director of True Tears. It shows.

Heck, it was storyboarded by the the director of Armed Librarians and directed by the co-director of GTO. Talk about a dream team here…
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Tiger & Bunny – 10

by psgels, posted in Tiger & Bunny



The good thing: Barnaby can finally remember the face of his parents’ killer after seeing a picture of him. The bad: this happened right before some of his comrades execute a city-wide plan to bust this guy out of jail. It ties in with the big flaw of this show: its coincidences; they just keep happening over and over.

In any case though, with this episode we seem to be heading into the meat of this series now that Ouroboros has finally showed itself. But even there I doubt that the entire second half of this show will be about Ouroboros: there is still Lunatic of course, but also tons of different side-plots that can work out really nicely if given an episode or two.

This episode was a step back from the previous episodes though. It lacked personality. It may have introduced new characters, but as for the older cast, it didn’t really show anything new about them aside from a short compilation of what they do in their time off. That part was very good, by the way. Compilations like that work especially well in action-packed series with large casts like this one.
Rating: * (Good)

Deadman Wonderland – 08

by psgels, posted in Deadman Wonderland



As much as I like this show, it does have its share of plotholes: Ganta hasn’t been eating any candy lately, has he? In fact, how do all these death row inmates rake up enough cash to buy these candies? Or are you immune to the poison they inject with the branches of sin? With these kinds of plotholes it’s always the context determines whether they’re an eyesore or a minor annoyance, and with Deadman Wonderland it has been the latter so far. There’s just so much else that makes up for it.

This episode was quiet for this series’ standards, but it did take advantage of that buy fleshing out the different characters. Shiro is back, she got some quality time together with Ganta, the priest got interesting, the resistance got some depth. And holy crap the ending of this episode contained some disturbing gore. This isn’t a matter of just showing a little blood: the way that the acid ate away that guy’s skin and muscles. Usually at those points, you see the camera pan away to not show the bloodiest parts. This show didn’t. The animation of this series can really be divided into two categories: really unimpressive, or really good.

This episode was laid back, but at the same time it didn’t destroy the mood that has been built up by the previous episode. Especially because it just kept dropping hints at all hell breaking loose in the next episode. They were surprisingly subtle for this series, but it just kept giving hints that many people are going to die horribly next week.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Ao no Exorcist – 08

by psgels, posted in Ao no Exorcist



So while the action in this series may not be the best of this season, it still was very good in this episode. It’s a simple show, it does suffer from the “let’s all talk casually while we’re in the middle of a fight”-syndrome, and the cast is full of hot headed characters, but they have really developed some charms at this point. That’s what made this episode work, although the animation did get quite good near the end of this episode. Especially that ghoul was well animated.

Also, it might actually help for the entire cast to be full of hotheads: this way Rin doesn’t have to be the only one there, and can actually show off a bit more of himself. This episode probably showed him at his most versatile we’ve seen him so far thanks to that girl having issues.

The evil teacher should probably be the first spice to get the story going again. I’m especially intrigued as why he found it a good idea to: 1) Showing his face to Rin and 2) Afterwards finding it a good idea to just casually pop up next to Yukio. One criticism would be that this show lacks variety: we pretty much have three characters with the exact same goals: kill a demon who slaughtered some family members. I mean, it’s much better than just wanting to be the best and all, but they could have at least done something to not make their back-stories exactly the same?

Also, what is up with that hood guy? Has he actually done… anything at this point? I mean, he’s just there. He sits, but never talks or even acts.Comparing him to an elephant in the room is a bit much of course, but it’s still really weird that after eight episodes, he has done absolutely nothing.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Gosick – 20

by psgels, posted in Gosick



And so much for the “Kujou is stupid” in this series. With this, he’s just become “not as bright as Victorique”, which is how it should have been at the start. This episode shows him actually investigating, using his head and going after clues. That’s what a good Watson should do, compared to his parrot-like role in the first half of this series. The teacher meanwhile still is a moron, but at least she’s a moron who doesn’t get in the way this time.

In any case though, this again was an excellent episode in terms of build-up. Kuji vs Victorique was used really well for that. The distance between Kujou and Victorique has been a major theme throughout the series, and here is where that really paid off with Victorique believing that Kujou’s involvement would only make her father put her back into that damn castle of his.

With four episodes left, the Coco Rose mystery will probably be the prelude to the finale. Here it’s going to be up to Mari Okada again to correctly plan the ending and make it fit into these 24 episodes. With this series in particular there should be no excuse, because some episodes in the middle could easily have been cut in order to fit the finale in.

I’m expecting a lot out of it, though, with such an amazing lead-up. Especially the occult roots around Marquis de Blois are interesting here: this show has consistently debunked any hint to the supernatural as mere tricks (aside from perhaps the fortune teller, but yeah: that’s pretty much the nature of fortune tellers: be vague enough so that your story fits for everyone), and yet this guy keeps going on about grey wolves, rituals and mystical powers. It’s actually much more interesting than the Coco Rose Mystery at this point: how on earth are the creators planning to put all that into perspective? I mean, we know that Marquis de Blois was obsessed over the occult since he was young and all, but I doubt that he carried out all of those rituals just because of his own madness.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

X-Men – 09

by psgels, posted in X-Men



Now this is what I call great action. The X-Men set out to create an exciting series, and really: they delivered on that. Wolverine’s strength was that it had solid action that despite the bad animation kept changing and was dynamic. The X-Men may have less action, but it’s all better built-up, it’s better directed, it’s better animated. It’s once again a major step forward for the Marvel anime.

Also, for once the villains are actually a bit menacing. I also like how the main villain isn’t the type to just sit on his chair and let his minions handle everything: instead he’s been infiltrating a research facility while the X-Men were fighting the (still pointless though) U-Men. Now, this episode did take away all doubts of Emma ever turning into a morally ambiguous character, but on the other hand: it is a solid explanation of what went on in that first episode, and it was definitely worth the build-up.

Also, Blade: the trailer and staff list have been released. In the trailer it looks less artsy than the X-Men, but we will be getting our first black main character since Michiko e Hatchin. The director is a very interesting guy: he was the assistant director of Gungrave, Shigurui and Tokyo Tribe 2… and the director of Chi’s Sweet Home and Kobato. Those just don’t mesh: as an assistant director he’s only after mafia, blood and gore, whereas the shows he has directed are incredibly cute. It has potential though: he really is an excellent director and I especially loved his work on Kobato. Meanwhile, it will be written by a guy who has only done live action adaptations so far. Again a completely new writer in terms of writing entire anime plots. It has potential, but because it’s going to air in an awesome season, I don’t think that I’m going to end up blogging it.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Some Quick First Impressions: Appleseed XIII

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Appleseed XIII

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is an elite mecha pilot.
Whoa early! I thought that Appleseed was only set to appear for another ten days. I guess that this is a preview episode or something? In any case: yeah, this was already better than the two movies. It’s not like it already is deeper than the best parts of the 2004 movie, but this episode focused more on the relationship between Deunan and Buriarios than the two movies combined. That’s the kind of stuff you need this early in the story. Having said that, though: this episode was very sappy. I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if Deunan was on her period for the first half of this episode. In terms of the graphics: the faces look as weird as most other 3D series: it’s the botox-faces syndrome, but at least they’re moved nicely. Apart from that though, this episode looked excellent. It’s especially good at lighting and those kinds of effects, and the insertion of the symbolic images to the Greek Mythology were also a nice touch.
OP: Nice idea with great designs.
ED: Really short, but I like how they even stuffed symbolism here.
Potential: 80%

Hyouge Mono – 09

by psgels, posted in Hyouge Mono




OMG WTF!?

This show is brilliant. Utterly brilliant. But… what?! And don’t get me wrong: this episode was the best one of Hyouge Mono so far, but… what!?

Just to be sure, I watched the preview for the next episode… but that was even crazier. Okay. That took me completely by surprise. This show just proved that it’s even better than I first thought. In this post I will be really vague on what exactly happened for the sake of spoilers. In any case though, next week’s episode promises to be even better, so I’ll probably have to end up talking about what the hell happened here there.

In the meantime though: the build-up throughout this episode was exquisite. It just so subtly brought the different characters alive, only to switch to the completely un-subtle quirks of the different characters. I just love how Oda Nobunaga just keeps bringing in these exotic products. The elephant in this episode again was hysterical. Rarely do I get to see an evil overlord who is this enjoyable to watch.

The way in which he uses his powers to always get what he wants and makes everyone scared of him: it’s just brilliantly done. The way in which he announces his plans to conquer the entire world: you’d almost believe that he’s actually capable of doing it. On top of that, Furuta Sasuke was also amazing to watch as usual. Usually the quirkiest characters of the cast don’t end up as the main characters, but he is one example who wonderfully defies that trend.

And really: everyone had the most wonderful facial expressions in this episode. Heck, this series has by far the most details in the drawings of its faces than any other series I’ve seen this year. Heck, it feels like ages since a show came along that had facial expressions that are this detailed. Sure, the animation of this series is obviously limited, but this is one heck of a way to make up for it!
Rating: *** (Awesome)

[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control – 08

by psgels, posted in The Money of Soul and Possibility Control



Okay, so with this episode it’s certain: C does not belong in the Noitamina slot. Its themes of course fit it nicely and all, but 11 episodes is just too little for this series. The proof came in this episode when suddenly from out of nowhere the entire world went to hell. I guess that the financial crisis of 2008 also came out of nowhere to most people and all, but a bit of a smoother build-up would have been nice here.

And yet, this episode rocked. The change with the previous episodes was… abrupt to say the least, but heck: I’ll buy it. After all, this is the kind of tension that this series needs in order to really turn its setting around. It’s in this episode where the differences between real money and Midas Money really become apparent: at first the whole concept of using your future as stocks made sortof sense, but there is one major difference here: no matter how much real money you lose: you can always recover. When Midas Money goes wrong, entire freaking countries disappear.

Kimimaro is going to be the key in whether or not the finale will succeed. I mean, he is the destined rookie of this series: he’s going to somehow end up playing a role in saving the world from bankruptcy. With the amount of time this series spent on fleshing out its setting, a cop-out ending will probably ruin most of the build-up, or at least leave a nasty aftertaste behind. Having said that though: this episode was a great start.

It’s interesting to see the “first half episodic stories, second half plot’-format in Noiramina, and it’s really paying off at this point: this episode did a great job of tying the previous episodes together, and I especially liked the teacher part, but also the way in which this episode gave both depth to the information broker and took a lot at the concept of money itself using trust was really interesting. I applaud you, series. Now keep this up, because you’re heading into a direction with a lot of potential pitfalls!
Rating: ** (Excellent)